


Unpleasant Meetings

by LastHope



Category: Mortal Instruments Series - Cassandra Clare, Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Human, Alternate Universe - Pokemon, Bad First Meetings, Gen, I'm a slut for Pokemon AUs unfortunately, Pokemon AU, Pre-Malec, Tumblr story, pokemon battles
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-08
Updated: 2016-04-21
Packaged: 2018-05-25 14:40:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 7,107
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6198985
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LastHope/pseuds/LastHope
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Alec's Eevee runs off, he doesn't expect it to cause him to meet one of the most handsome men he's ever seen. If only something could be done about that personality. Pre-Malec</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Crash Course in Introductions

**Author's Note:**

> This is a story that I originally posted on my Tumblr, and I'm just now getting around to editing it and posting to my writing accounts. As the summary says, this is 'Pre-Malec', so while this story features primarily Alec and Magnus, there is no hooking up between them. Still, I hope you stick around to read this and this fact doesn't frighten you off!

“All right Banette,” There was the sound of pencil scratching against paper singing with the hum of _Telekinesis_ and the Kecleon’s panicked sounds. “Just hold her there for a few more minutes, okay?”

After ten more minutes, the Kecleon was returned to the ground, vanishing from sight immediately. Banette gave a displeased huff, but let the Kecleon retreat back into the bushes around the clearing.

Alec stood up, stretched, and tucked his sketchbook back into his pack.

“Who’s ready to get going?” He asked his Pokémon. Alec’s Eevee, who he had caught two weeks ago, twined insistently around his legs, while his Banette took the initiative and scaled Alec until she was hanging off his shoulder.

“Haunter,” Alec called for the last of his pokémon. Alec had caught Haunter in a cave towards the beginning of his journey, around the same time he had caught Banette. At the time, Haunter had still been a Ghastly, and Alec had the unpleasant experience of waking up one morning to find his Ghastly evolved into a Haunter. It had been quite the scare.

Banette, lucky for Alec, had been caught as a Banette, but _unlucky_ for Alec, she had the ability of _Insomnia_ , so whenever she insisted on spending the night outside of her Pokéball, he didn’t get much sleep.

“Haunter, c’mon,” Alec called once more, clapping his hands together, keeping his eyes towards the shadows of the clearing. Haunter did have a predilection for darkness, and Alec was normally conscientious of that, only bringing him out during the night. But Alec had had a slight mix-up, and thought that Haunter had known _Telekinesis_ when it was Banette.

A cold chill shuddered across his free shoulder, but Alec had long since stopped jumping at the sensation; he merely craned his head to look at the ghost-type now hovering over his shoulder. Haunter frowned, obviously upset at not scaring his trainer.

“We ready?” Alec asked his Pokémon once more, and at their nods, they started forward.

Eevee took the lead, wandering in front of them all, while Banette stuck to Alec’s shoulder, and Haunter hovered slightly behind Alec.

The trip was mostly uneventful, until Eevee veered off to the side, sprinting under the brush, out of Alec’s sight.

“Eevee!” Alec yelped, chasing after him. “Get back here!” He raced through the brush after Eevee. He tripped over a root hidden by the underbrush, and accidentally pitched himself over the edge of the ledge that his Eevee had been smart enough to stop at.

“Banette,” He said breathlessly, wanting her to use _Telekinesis_ , but it was too late; the ground was coming up too quickly. _God_ this was an embarrassing end, Alec only hoped that his death was quick–

“Well, well, well,” A voice purred below him. “What do you suppose we have here, Chairman?” Alec cracked open his eyes, which he hadn’t realized he’d shut.

And promptly saw the most _gorgeous_ eyes he had ever seen before. They were a beautiful mixture of gold and green, centered on golden skin. It was also about that time that Alec realized he was hovering mid-air. He squeaked, flailing, but didn’t move much. Banette snickered on his shoulder, the traitor.

“Terribly sorry,” Alec managed to get out, hiding his face behind his hands. “Would you, ah, mind putting me down?”

“Oh, it wouldn’t be much bother,” His savior responded airily, a cocky grin. His eyes glinted, and Alec worried as he removed his hands. “For a price.” The Espeon at his side– most likely Chairman –cocked its head to the side, eyes glowing a dark purple with its use of _Telekinesis_.

“What price?” Alec asked suspiciously.

“Oh, nothing much.” His savior said reassuringly, though the glint in his eyes was nothing but. “Just a kiss– though your number would do just as well.”

Alec could feel his face burn right to the tips of his ears. A mixture of rage and embarrassment pulsed through him. He studied the Espeon and the man in front of him. No other visible pokémon, and…

“Espeons are psychic-types, right?” Alec asked. “Oh, who am I kidding, of course they are.”

“What does that have to do with anything? You only have–”

“Haunter,” Alec shouted overtop of his ‘savior’, voice calm and flat. “ _Shadow Punch._ ”

“Wha–?”

Haunter laughed as he appeared, delivering a swift uppercut to the Espeon on the ground. The force of the punch sent it skidding back, cancelling _Telekinesis_ , and knocking the poor thing out. Ghost-types were super-effective against psychic-types, after all. Alec and Banette crashed to the ground, and Banette chittered her displeasure as they picked themselves up.

“Hey, that was–”

“Banette, _Telekinesis_ ,” Alec interrupted the other once more, deathly calm. His ‘savior’ gave an undignified shriek as he found himself dangled upside down above the ground. Banette laughed as she returned to her perch on Alec’s shoulder.

“Okay, okay, let’s just discuss this _rationally_ ,” He was saying, but Alec didn’t really have the time for anyone who thought unsolicited offers such as his had been were appropriate.

“Eevee,” Alec continued in the same eerie calm and flat tone of voice, “ _Shadow Ball._ ”

The man yelped as the force of the attack hit him right in the stomach, knocking him out of the clutches of Banette’s _Telekinesis_ and straight into a tree.

A twinge of guilt flashed through Alec, said that _maybe_ he had overreacted, but he didn’t spare it a second thought. He forced it down as he picked his Eevee up off the ground, and continued their way to the next town, never looking back.

And he most certainly did _not_ spend the next two insomnia filled nights thinking about gold-green eyes and Espeons.

* * *

 


	2. Unpleasant Meetings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alec meets up with his siblings in Celestic City, home of the Psychic Gym.

“Ta-da!” Isabelle was beaming brightly as she showed off her brand new Gym Badge to Alec, the Psychic Badge for Celestic City. “That makes seven! One more, and I qualify for Pokémon League Battle Championships!”

“But you should have seen how _miserably_ she scraped by,” Jace jeered, jogging up to the table Alec and his sister were sitting at. They were all supposed to have met an hour ago but, as usual, Jace enjoyed being ‘fashionably’ late.

“It was not _miserable_ ,” Isabelle scowled.

“Wow, did your Riolu evolve?” Alec diverted the conversation quickly before his siblings could devolve into fighting. The answer was very blatantly obvious; the Pokémon at his brother’s side wasn’t the little Riolu he had seen the last time they had met, but a Lucario.

Still, “Yeah,” Jace was flattered. “And _we_ beat the Gym Leader much easier than Isabelle and her little _Sneasel_.” He said the Pokémon’s name like it was a curse, and Sneasel bristled at Izzy’s side.

Something told Alec that Jace was lying; he knew his brother’s team was mainly fighting-types, which were incredibly weak against psychic-types. But, he was showing off his Psychic Badge, so Alec wasn’t going to mention it. If he did, it would only encourage Izzy and Jace to continue sniping at one anonther.

“You would probably have the easiest time though Alec,” Jace continued, ignoring the way that Izzy and Sneasel were glaring at him like they were considering the merits of using _Ice Punch_ on him. Alec internally sighed and shared a look with Banette.

“Right, because your team is mostly ghost-types, right?” Isabelle asked even though Alec’s Banette spoke for him. “You would have a real easy time with it.” She paused, humming thoughtfully, and kicked her feet against the underside of the table top.

“You are going to challenge him, aren’t you?” Izzy eyed him like Alec would refuse. Which he didn’t blame his sister for; he wasn’t as avid a Badge collector as his siblings. He preferred studying Pokémon and drawing them than actively battling. He didn’t really want to participate in the Pokémon Battle League… Jace had joked many times before how he should just participate in Contests, like his girlfriend, Clary.

Speaking of…

“Where’s Clary?” Alec was surprised she wasn’t with Jace; typically they were attached at the hip, literally. The two were so in love it was sickening. Alec was considering gifting them Luvdiscs for Christmas.

“She had a Contest today – I’m surprised you weren’t in it, by the way, –” There was the Contest jab, like always. Alec had been wondering how long it would take for his siblings to bring it up. “And after her mom wanted to catch up with her and take her to meet some people she knew.”

“Did she win?” Isabelle asked, even though asking if Clary won was like asking if the sun rose in the east and set in the west; it was a given.

“Duh,” Jace rolled his eyes, and threw himself in the free chair at the table. “You gonna eat that? Great, thanks.” He didn’t wait for Alec’s reply before relieving him of his food and eating it himself.

“So, are you going to challenge the Gym Leader?” Isabelle pressed Alec. “Really, it should be a cinch for you. And, it wouldn’t hurt to have _one_ badge. Even Clary has one, and she only does Contests.” Alec didn’t bother pointing out to Isabelle that he already had a badge; he had gotten the Grass Badge the last time his sister pestered him about badges.

“Maybe,” Alec didn’t really want to give in. He had plans, and he didn’t really want to push them back just because his siblings wanted him to battle another Gym Leader.

“Please?” She drew the word out long, wavering her pitch in an annoying way that only younger siblings could manage, Alec swore.

“Fine,” Alec relented, even though he didn’t really want to. But he had long since learned that it was easier to give in to his sister, otherwise she would just get worse.

“Great!” Isabelle had a pleased look on her face, one that did not set right with Alec. “I promise you won’t regret it.”

Something told Alec that his sister had something planned, something that probably involved setting him up with Celestic City’s Gym Leader. (She was _always_ trying to set him up, despite how many times Alec tried to tell her that he _was not interested._ ) At least Alec had the benefit of having the dominant Pokémon type. Unfortunately, before Alec could call his sister out on her sinister plans, Clary arrived.

And she brought company.

“Hey guys!” She waved at them all, bounding up to them with her Smeargle at one side, and a _very_ familiar face on her other.

Part of Alec wanted to crawl under the table and die, and the other part of him wanted to have Banette use _Headbutt_ and retreat very, very quickly.

“Look who I brought with me,” She prompted unnecessarily, announcing the presence of her guest.

“Oh, hi Magnus!” Izzy was beaming, and Alec felt immensely uncomfortable with the look she was shooting between the two of them.

“Hello Isabelle,” Magnus greeted Alec’s sister, but his gold-green eyes were resting uncomfortably on Alec. He felt Banette scale up to his shoulder, and her bristle as she glared at the Espeon at Magnus’ side.

The Espeon glared back, tail erect and hackles raised.

It was a fact that everyone did not miss, though Magnus graciously pretended not to notice it. Likewise, Alec pretended to not notice his own Pokémon’s reaction. The only way the air surrounding the two men could get even more charged was if someone used _Thunderwave._

“Magnus, this is my brother, Alec.” Isabelle introduced, charging through the tension recklessly like a Tauros would charge through an unstable fence. “Alec, Magnus. He’s the one I told you about.”

“We’ve met,” They both informed Isabelle at the same time. Alec glared at Magnus while Magnus looked immensely pleased.

“You have?” Jace and Isabelle looked astonished.

“Indeed.” Magnus nodded, grinning, while Alec scowled and slumped lower in his chair. Banette chittered in a displeased fashion, and Alec readjusted to accommodate her. “How is your Haunter by the way? And your Eevee?” There was a flash of something in Magnus’ gold-green eyes that Alec chalked up to Magnus remembering the pain he had been put through. Alec squashed down the guilt he felt once more.

“He’s an Umbreon now,” Alec’s tone was colder than Isabelle’s Dewgong in a frozen lake. His meaning and threat was clear; Umbreons were dark-type pokemon, and super effective against psychic-types. “What about your Espeon?”

“Chairman Meow is doing quite lovely, aren’t you darling?” Magnus directed the last part down to his Espeon, who responded with a hiss at Alec and Banette. “Though I must admit, when the cards told me we would meet again, I did not quite expect it like this.” He continued amicably, ignoring the rising tension between them.

“Shocking.” Alec could see his siblings and Clary glancing worriedly at one another from the corner of his eyes. “Honestly, I had hoped,” _that they would meet again, he couldn’t get his eyes out of his head, they had a rough first meeting but maybe he wasn’t quite like that_ “that we wouldn’t meet again.”

“Well, this is going _spectacularly_ ,” Izzy mumbled under her breath, rolling her eyes, voice loud enough that everyone could hear her.

“So, uh,” Clary asked nervously, looking between the two men as if she was unsure if she really wanted the answer to the question she was about to ask. “How did you two first meet?”

“Ah,” Magnus sighed fondly, “The lovely young Alec quite literally fell into my life.”

“He sexually harassed me.” Alec answered in a flat tone.

“Whoa, don’t be so hasty,” Magnus defended quickly, raising his hands. “I wouldn’t call it sexual harassment–”

“It _was_ sexual harassment,” Alec interrupted angrily, rising from the table sharply, nearly upsetting his glass on it. His hands were placed palm down on the table, bracing himself. “You had me in a position where I had no option to _refuse–_ ”

“I believe your Pokémon speak otherwise for you,” Magnus cut him off. “And besides, _you_ used excessive force against _me_ , when all you had to do was–”

“Say no?” Alec felt his face flush hotly, could feel his blood pulsing through his head. “Tell me, how _do_ people normally react when you offer unsolicited propositions to them? Do they normally accept, especially when you have them in positions like you had me?”

“I _saved_ your life, and this is the thanks I get?”

“Well what if I didn’t want you to save my life, huh? What about that?”

“You _cannot_ honestly tell me–”

“I _don’t_ have to honestly tell you anything. Banette,” Alec was done, he was leaving, he didn’t care if he told his sister he would battle the Gym Leader, he would do it some other time. Right now he was fed up, and wanted to get away. He was just going to have Banette _Headbutt_ Magnus and get away. Alec could apologize to his siblings and Clary later.

“Smeargle, _Calm Mind._ ” Clary’s voice cut him off sharply before Alec could finish giving Banette the command.

Against his will, Alec found himself calming down under Smeargle’s _Calm Mind._ The force of the attack had him taking deep breaths, slowing his heart rate, and tugging his anger away from him. His fists, which Alec hadn’t realized he had formed, slowly unclenched, revealing crescent marks from his nails set into his palms.

“There,” Clary announced in a forced-calm tone of voice. “Are we all willing to talk _civilly_ now?”

“I am being civil,” Magnus responded brightly, looking as if this was all a _game_ to him. Alec felt his blood begin to thrum hotly in his veins once more. He forced himself to remain calm. Alec didn’t really want to go through having Clary use _Calm Mind_ on him again.

“Funny definition of ‘civil’,” Alec muttered under his breath, even though he realized he hadn’t been the calmest either.

“Like you have room to talk,” Magnus shot back. “If I remember correctly, _you_ were at fault as well.”

“I never said I wasn’t,” Alec retorted hotly.

“Boys,” Clary interrupted sharply, and her Smeargle waved its tail at them in reminder of its presence.

“Why don’t we settle this properly,” Alec proposed abruptly, looking at Magnus with cutting blue eyes. “With a battle?” This sort of proposition was uncharacteristic for Alec, but he saw no other way of being able to settle it. “Two on two; if I win, you _apologize_ and leave me alone.”

“I don’t think this is the right way to go about this,” Isabelle looked at her brother worriedly, and she, Jace, and Clary all shared a look.

“I’m all right with that,” Magnus agreed pleasantly. “And if I win, you thank me for saving your life _and_ go out on a date with me.”

The thought of going out with him made Alec feel an unsettling mix of emotions, the most prevalent being an urge to cringe, but he didn’t really see any other way.

“Fine,” Alec ground out, and didn’t shake Magnus’ hand when he offered it.

“Wonderful,” Magnus said lightly, placing his hand casually back in his pocket. “We’ll battle in an hour, if that’s enough time for you to prepare. Your siblings will know where to meet.”

“Plenty.” Alec answered, but didn’t get a chance to ask why his siblings would know where they were battling before Magnus turned to leave.

“Oh,” Magnus added as he left, pausing and turning to look over his shoulder at Alec, Chairman mimicking his trainer’s motion, “And don’t worry, I’ll still let you have the badge if you win.” And he was gone, leaving Alec perplexed at his last comment.

“What did he mean, let me have the badge?” He asked no one in particular.

“That,” Isabelle replied dryly, one hand on her Sneasel’s head, the other running a finger around the rim of her glass, “Was Magnus Bane, brother dearest. Celestic City’s Gym Leader.”

* * *

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In the original version of this on Tumblr, I referenced that 8 badges allowed you onto Victory Road to battle the Elite 4, like in the games, but I've changed it to what the show does - where 8 badges gets you into the regional League championship tournament. I couldn't remember (or find) exactly what they were called, so I referenced everything as the Pokemon League Battle/Contest Championships and the Pokemon Battle/Contest League. If you know what the Battle and Contest Leagues are actually referred to as, please let me know and I will fix it!


	3. Perish the Battle

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alec v. Magnus - Part 1

Forty-five minutes later, Isabelle, Jace, and Clary were leading Alec through the warp panels that led to the final arena in the Psychic Gym. There, Magnus would be waiting for Alec so they could face each other in their battle. Banette was chittering loudly in his ear as they all came to a stop before the final warp panel.

“Last one,” Jace announced as they paused. “So, before we go any further, are you ready?”

“As I’ll ever be,” Alec told him. “I don’t understand why we had to go through all those warp panels though; if there’s so many of them, why couldn’t there just be one to go straight to the end?”

“Well, you are getting a badge out of this if you win,” Isabelle pointed out. “Just be glad you didn’t have to battle all the other Psychic trainers that normally hang around the Gym. Not that you or any of your ghost-types would have had a problem with them. Probably wouldn’t have even broken a sweat.” Isabelle tacked on at the end, dismissively waving her hand.

“Speaking of ghost-types,” Clary chimed in, “Are you planning on using Banette against Magnus?”

“Not this time,” Alec responded, resulting in a disappointed huff from the Pokémon on his shoulder. “Actually,” He added, extracting Banette from her perch, holding her out to Clary. “Would you mind watching her? I know Gym regulations state you can’t have Pokémon not participating in the battle outside of their Pokéball in the arena, but there’s no way she’s going to stay put if I put her in hers.”

It was a peace offering; Alec and Clary hadn’t gotten along at first when she and Jace started dating. They got along a lot better now, but they were still patching up their friendship. Alec asking Clary to watch Banette was a big step. Banette was pretty much his best friend next to Jace, and Alec cared about her well-being a bit more than his own from time to time. (It was part of the reason why he put up with Banette’s _Insomnia_ ability, to be quite honest.)

Clary stared a bit blankly at Banette, until Jace not so subtly elbowed her in the ribs. It was a shock that brought her back, and she took Banette from Alec’s hold. Banette gave a laugh; ghost pokemon could sense fear, and Banette probably felt it rolling off of Clary. Ghost Pokémon _were_ a little unnerving at first, Alec knew from experience.

“You’re not using Banette?” Isabelle seemed shocked. Alec _always_ used Banette. “Who are you using then? Umbreon?”

“You’ll see,” Alec responded vaguely. “Are we ready to go up, or are we going to stand around some more?”

There were shrugs all around.

“Well, let’s go,” Jace rounded them off, before gesturing toward the warp panel and giving an over-exaggerated bow. “Ladies first.”

Clary laughed as she stepped on the warp panel, Banette laughing as well as they disappeared. Isabelle rolled her eyes as she stepped on the panel, saying “My brother’s a fucking _dweeb_.”

Jace raised an eyebrow when Alec didn’t step on the panel, and gestured again at the panel.

“Didn’t you hear me?” Jace asked as he gestured once more. “Ladies first.”

“Oh, get off your high horse,” Alec shoved his brother before stepping on the panel.

As he vanished, he could still hear Jace’s laughter echoing.

* * *

The arena at the top was pink. Very pink. Alec supposed he should have seen that coming; psychic-type Pokémon were represented with pink markers. It was mainly because the majority of psychic-types were pink or varying shades.

“You’re here!” Magnus called jauntily from the other side of the room, coming to meet them in the middle of the arena. His hands were jammed casually in his pockets. “I must admit, for a while there I thought you might back out.”

“Thought wrong Bane,” Jace spoke for Alec, clapping a hand on his brother’s shoulder. “My brother’s not one to back down from _anything_.

“Is that so?” Magnus stared at Alec, curiosity in his gold-green eyes. Alec looked away. “Interesting.” Alec pretended not to feel the heat burn on his cheeks, and told himself it was just because of Jace’s compliment, and not anything else.

“Yeah, well,” Alec coughed awkwardly. “Are we going to battle or not?”

“All right, all right,” Magnus waved his hands. “I get it. Not good with words, so your Pokémon do all the talking.” He grinned. Alec told himself that his stomach’s fluttering was merely annoyance. Which in honesty, it was; Alec was not good with words, but not in any sort of sense that Magnus was implying.

“I don’t suppose one of you would mind reffing the match, would you?” Magnus asked Jace and Isabelle.

“I think we both could do it,” Isabelle told Magnus, and Jace nodded, looking at Magnus as if he were to challenge them, but all Magnus did was shrug and sigh as if he had expected that outcome.

Jace and Isabelle walked to either side of the arena on the outer edges, while Magnus and Alec walked to the battler’s boxes at the ends. Clary skipped off the arena to the stands on the side with Banette. Alec took a deep breath.

“This match will be between Magnus Bane, Celestic City Gym Leader,” Isabelle announced from her position once everyone settled, “And challenger, Alec Lightwood of Luttent City.”

“It will be two Pokémon against two Pokémon,” Jace called. “No swap outs may be made unless your Pokémon is unable to battle.”

“Winner will be declared once both Pokémon are unable to battle,” They called together, speaking as one. “Battlers, are you ready?”

“You know it,” Magnus nodded, eyes shining with excitement.

“Let’s just get this over with,” Alec scoffed.

“Begin!” Jace and Isabelle shouted.

“Misdreavus, let’s go!” Alec threw the Pokéball with Misdreavus in it. Misdreavus appeared, doing a flip in the air and letting out a coo.

“Ghost-type.” Magnus hummed. “Misdreavus _is_ cute, but you’re a little predictable aren’t you?” Alec bristled.

“Not as predictable as _you,_ ” Alec huffed sourly. “Though I guess that’s what makes you easy to beat; being a Psychic Gym Leader and all. All’s that needed to beat you is a ghost or a dark-type Pokémon.”

“Not _that_ predictable,” Magnus sniffed, before throwing his own Pokéball. “Gracie, why don’t we show darling Alec how it’s done here in Celestic City?”

His Pokémon appeared, and Alec did his best to hold back the curse that inevitably fell from his lips.

“A Girafarig!” Clary gasped from the sidelines as the other two Lightwoods did their best not to react.

A normal-psychic-type pokemon. Normal and ghost-type moves didn’t affect each other normally, which meant that while some of Girafarig’s attacks wouldn’t affect Misdreavus…

“Ghost-type moves won’t affect Girafarig,” Alec groaned out loud.

“Bingo,” Magnus’ eyes flashed, beaming. “A bit tight with moves now, aren’t you? Ghost-type moves won’t affect Gracie, and even if your Misdreavus knows any psychic-type moves, it’ll have half the effect.”

“I hope you aren’t doubting my abilities as a trainer _already_ ,” Alec challenged, not about to consider the disadvantages. He had to win this battle. He _had to._ “Misdreavus, seeing as Magnus adores his own voice so much, why don’t we give him a taste of _yours_?” Alec didn’t call an attack because he didn’t need to. He and all of his Ghosts were one; they knew what he wanted, and he knew what they needed. They had their moments when they worked in complete unison.

Misdreavus let out a beautiful _Screech_ that left both Girafarig _and_ Magnus reeling, before promptly vanishing into thin air. It was an action that Alec had been expecting, and Magnus wasn’t surprised by.

“The element of surprise won’t help you hear, Alec.” Magnus said, before coolly commanding his Girafarig, “Gracie, be a darling and use _Thunder Wave,_ and smoke out Misdreavus.”

_Thunder Wave_ caused paralysis, and it covered the entire field – it didn’t take long after Girafarig used the attack for Misdreavus to reappear, levitating not too far from her opponent. She was paralyzed. Magnus seemed delighted by the outcome, but Alec did not worry. The battle was still in its early stages, it wasn’t over yet.

“Gracie, _Crunch_ followed by _Assurance_ ,” Magnus ordered. “Don’t worry Alec, we’ll make sure it’s quick.”

“Misdreavus, _Heal Bell,_ then _Sucker Punch_.” Alec narrowed his eyes, and watched as Magnus reeled back.

“ _Heal Bell_ is a normal-type move, Alec– it won’t affect your Misdreavus,” Magnus said, but the proof was on the field; as sure as night and day, _Heal Bell_ had worked effectively on Alec’s Misdreavus, and she ducked out of range of Magnus’s Girafarig’s attacks in the nick of time. She vanished from sight only to reappear behind the startled Girafarig with a forceful _Sucker Punch._

The force of the attack sent Girafarig skidding across the arena, but it wasn’t enough for a knock out. Magnus, surprised as he was, recovered remarkably quickly.

“Gracie, _Shadow Ball!_ ” And Gracie wasted no time – the dark ball of energy was spiraling through the air, and before either Alec could shout anything or Misdreavus could move, the attack struck home. Misdreavus was sent spiraling back, but like her attack on the other Pokémon, it was not enough to knock her out.

“Follow up with _Thunderbolt,_ ” Magnus told Gracie.

“ _Hyper Voice.”_ Alec’s voice was flat, unlike Misdreavus’s, whose rang out and echoed, bouncing off the walls of the arena even more so than when she had used _Screech_ earlier in the battle. The force of her voice was powerful enough that it caused Girafarig’s aim to change slightly; instead of being hit by the full brunt of Gracie’s _Thunderbolt_ , she was only caught by part of it. Still, Misdreavus seemed to be affected more visibly by the attack than Gracie was.

She staggered, and it looked like she was on her last leg, so to speak. At the same time though, Magnus’ Girafarig didn’t look too well either. It was a matter of who would last longer – and, by the looks of things, it wouldn’t be Misdreavus. Alec had a choice he had to make, and he knew what it had to be.

“Misdreavus,” Alec commanded with a solemn tone and a heavy heart; he didn’t like using this move, and he hated having any of his Pokémon who knew this move use it. But in a situation like this… “Use _Perish Song_.”

It was a last ditch effort, he knew it, and Alec hoped Misdreavus understood as well.

Misdreavus let out a shrill wail, the third display of the ghost’s lovely voice, this time giving a haunting tone betraying the end in its sound. A piercing echo was all that was left once her song was done, and she hovered for one last fleeting moment before she succumbed to her own song’s ability.

A necessary sacrifice, Alec told himself clinically, but one that he didn’t care for.

Magnus, for the record, didn’t look at all fazed.

“What a noble sacrifice.” Was Magnus’ dismissive reaction. Alec gritted his teeth, and did his best not to let any reaction show on his face. “But will that really help you in the long run? I mean, Gracie is still kicking, and I’m sure any ghost-type you throw at us she’d be able to dispatch before _Perish Song_ goes into effect with her.”

“Underestimating me was your first mistake, Magnus,” Alec answered, pulling out a Pokéball.

“Oh?” Magnus quirked an eyebrow in response. “And what, by chance, was my second mistake?”

“Thinking that I only have ghost-types on my team,” Alec cocked his arm back and tossed the ball. “Umbreon! Let’s show him how a real team operates.”

“A _real_ team?” Magnus laughed. “Funny coming from you, sacrificing your own Pokémon to take down mine. Why don’t you just give up now?”

“Please,” Alec scoffed, offended. “I’m just getting started.”

* * *

 


	4. Battle's Conclusion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alec v. Magnus - Part 2

“Umbreon, _Shadow Ball!”_

“Etta, avoid it with _Teleport!”_

Magnus’ Girafarig had succumbed to the effects of Alec’s Misdreavus’s _Perish Song_ , leaving them both with their last two Pokémon for the battle. Gracie hadn’t gone down without a fight however, but it was the collision of both Pokémon on the field using _Iron Tail_ that had finally taking her down. Both trainers were officially down to their last two Pokémon.

Alec had his Umbreon, a beautiful dark-type who still had trouble at times listening to his trainer’s orders in events outside of battles. Magnus’s last Pokémon was his Kirlia, a beautiful psychic-fairy-type who he named Etta, and who loved her trainer very dearly.

Unlike the first half of the match where it seemed things were going slowly, and the scales had unexpectedly tipped in Magnus’ favor, the match was more balanced, and it almost seemed as if the scales could tip in either’s favor. While before it seemed that Magnus would undoubtedly win, the results were now up in the air. Magnus still had an advantage over Alec, with fairy-types being very effective against dark-types, but Alec had been lucky for the moment that most of the moves Magnus’s Kirlia knew were non-combative attacks that were meant to lower an opponent’s attacking ability, rather than deal direct damage.

“ _Headbutt_ , Etta!” Magnus ordered Kirlia as she reappeared right by Umbreon.

“Stand your ground Umbreon!” Alec shouted, loud and clear, across the arena. Umbreon visibly braced himself, but didn’t flinch as Etta’s attack connected. Alec was giving the next command before Etta had completed her attack. “Now, counter with _Assurance!”_

“You sly little Vulpix,” Magnus sounded far more amused than mad when he made the statement. Etta took damage from the attack, not being able to dodge in time, but thanks to being part fairy-type, she took less damage from the dark-type attack than she would have had she been a full psychic-type Pokémon. “You purposefully made your Umbreon take damage just so your attack would deal twice the damage when it hit.”

“It was a strategic move,” Alec brushed off the comment. “You should know about strategy, being a gym leader, shouldn’t you? Or have I over-estimated you there too?”

“Now, now,” He tsked, shaking his head at Alec’s insult. Magnus was grinning, and his eyes flashed with excitement. “I still have some tricks up my sleeve. Etta, why don’t we change up the playing field a bit? _Misty Terrain._ ”

His Kirlia gave a curtsy, and began pirouetting. Kicking up dust, the horns on her head glowed softly as the move took effect, and a light fog lazily rolled across the arena. It was just thick enough so that the pokemon on the field could not see one another.

“Knocking visibility down to nothing? Bit of a cheap shot, don’t you think?” Alec directed the remark to Magnus as he scoured the playing field for any sign of either Pokémon.

“You said it yourself before Alec darling,” Alec couldn’t see it through the mist, but he was certain that Magnus was waving his hand dismissively. “It’s a _strategic_ move.”

“Don’t call me darling,” Alec bit back.

“Whatever you say,” He swore he could hear Magnus batting his eyes and waving his hand, dismissing Alec’s words like that, and Alec bit his tongue and swallowed his words, telling himself that it would do no good to get upset now. “Now Etta, why don’t we end this? Use _Draining Kiss._ ”

A combative fairy-type move. It would deal damage to Umbreon while recovering some of Kirlia’s health at the same time. And with a misty terrain like Magnus had Etta set up, it would be difficult for Umbreon to avoid the attack.

“Umbreon, hold your ground and _Endure._ ” Alec gave out the order in a calm voice. This would be the best answer for the situation, and if he followed it up accurately… The battle was not over yet.

There was no visual cue for when Magnus’ Kirlia’s attack hit, but Alec could hear his Umbreon’s distressed cry, signaling to him that he had been hit.

“ _Sunny Day!”_ Alec ordered immediately, forcefully, before Magnus could give his Pokémon any order. “Followed immediately by _Moonlight!”_

_Sunny Day_ would burn away the _Misty Terrain_ that Etta had set up, taking away their upper hand. Then, _Moonlight_ would help Umbreon restore a decent portion of his health, thanks to the weather conditions set up by _Sunny Day_. It was no offensive attack against Magnus, but it at least put them back on equal footing.

“Ooh, _Moonlight._ ” Magnus was enthralled, amusement plain on his face as the mist burned away. “I wasn’t expecting you to pull that out of your hat, Alec.”

“Seems to me like you aren’t expecting a lot out of me,” Alec answered back, smiling despite himself. “Looks like you need to stop underestimating your opponents.” Despite themselves, Alec could spy from the corner of his eyes his siblings snickering, and he could hear Clary call out teasingly from the sidelines,

“Yeah, don’t you have a lot riding on this battle?” There was laughter in her voice, so Alec squashed down the part of him that thought that Clary was rooting for Magnus to win and not him.

“Now, now,” Magnus assumed an airy tone, “Don’t go underestimating me! I’m not the Psychic Gym Leader just for my looks. Etta, why don’t we take advantage of this lovely heat our opponent provided us?” His eyes were gleaming, manic and sharp, and gave the attack order confidently. “ _Fire Punch._ ”

Shit. That was right; Alec had been focused on getting rid of the mist, and having Umbreon heal himself that he hadn’t bothered thinking of the consequences of using _Sunny Day._ It increased the attack power of fire-type moves by fifty percent, meaning that Etta’s _Fire Punch_ would do more damage than it normally would. Alec giving the boost was probably the only reason that Magnus was using the attack in this battle.

“Umbreon, dodge, quick!” Alec ordered quickly, his calm breaking for a moment. There was _no way_ that he was going to lose this battle, especially for something as dumb as a slip up like this.

“A little harried, are we?” His tone was cheerful once more, and seemed to have a cat-like pleasure to himself even as Alec’s Umbreon narrowly avoided his Kirlia’s attack. “Why don’t we just call the battle now?”

“No way!” Alec scoffed. “I don’t need your charity. _Feint Attack!”_ He took advantage of Magnus’ momentary distraction, giving the barked command to Umbreon. Umbreon obeyed faithfully, feinting right before attacking from the left, landing a direct hit on Etta.

“Ow,” Magnus winced, and placed a hand on his chest as if Umbreon’s attack had physically wounded him, and not only his Kirlia. “That hurts Alec. That really hurts.”

“Well you know what they say,” He retorted, grinning despite himself, “If you can’t stand the pain, don’t play the game. Umbreon, _Iron Tail!”_

“Etta, _Teleport!”_ Magnus answered, and Etta shimmered out of existence just before Umbreon’s tail slammed on the ground where she had been standing. As she reappeared, he called out, “ _Thunderbolt!”_

“Umbreon, dodge then use _Shadowball!”_ Alec countered.

Umbreon narrowly dodged the bolt of lightning that Etta called down, hardly touching the ground before he was letting loose his own attack. Unlike Umbreon, Magnus’s Kirlia did not dodge in time, and the full brunt of Alec’s Umbreon’s _Shadowball_ caught her head on. Etta was sent flying back to the edge of the arena near Magnus. Landing on the ground, the Kirlia still managed to get back on her feet, albeit with some difficulty.

“Well,” Magnus had a small grimace on his face that was clear to Alec even from the other side of the arena. His Kirlia would not last much longer. Unfortunately, Alec’s Umbreon was in a similar state. “I would say that it’s about time for us to end this, now wouldn’t it?”

“I’d say that’s the smartest thing you’ve said since we’ve met,” Alec shot back, still running on the adrenaline high from the battle. From the corner of his eyes he could see both Izzy and Clary snickering.

“We’ll see how cocky you are when you lose,” Magnus still managed to laugh. “Etta, end this with _Dazzling Gleam!_ ”

“Umbreon, stop her with _Hyper Beam!_ ”

Both Pokémon braced themselves as they prepared their attacks, and the swell of latent energy filled the air, making it suffocating, before both attacks went off. As the two attacks connected, a blinding light blanketed the area, and even when the light receded there was still a cloud of dust that had been kicked up from the attacks that had to be contended with. Everyone was waiting with bated breath to see what the results were when the dust dissipated. Or, at least, Alec was. He had a bit more riding on this battle than anyone else.

Alec dug his nails into his palms, holding them tightly by his sides as he anxiously waited as the dust slowly cleared. As it cleared, the outcome of the battle became obvious.

“Kirlia is unable to battle,” Alec’s siblings announced in perfect unison, “The challenger, Alec Lightwood of Luttent City, is the winner!”

In the middle of the arena, Alec’s Umbreon was knocked partway on the ground, but he was struggling to stand up and clearly conscious. Meanwhile, Magnus’s Kirlia had been knocked once more to the ground, and was unconscious- a clear testament to who the winner of the battle was.

Alec let out a small breath of relief, even while something else he couldn’t name swelled up in his chest. He had won, and he was happy, but it was almost like he was also disappointed too, for some reason. Still, that was something to dwell on for another time.

“Good job Umbreon,” Alec told his Pokémon, before calling him back to his Pokéball. Returning the Pokéball to his belt, Alec started crossing the arena to shake hands with Magnus.

“Good match,” Magnus was smiling as he met Alec in the middle, shaking his hand.

“Same to you,” Alec smiled back, “You nearly had me a few times. There’s obviously a reason why you’re the Psychic Gym Leader.” He tried not to think of how warm Magnus’s hand was, or how nicely it fit in his own.

“Please,” Magnus scoffed, laughter in his voice, “You had me struggling this entire battle. There’s no doubt that you’d be a _brilliant_ gym leader in your own right.”

Alec couldn’t help it; he froze, guilt sliding down his back like ice water, clogging his throat in an attempt to suffocate him. Alec was rescued from having to answer however, as his siblings and Clary joined the two of them.

“That was an _amazing_ battle,” She crowed as she joined them. “Great job, both of you.” Clary held Banette out to Alec. “Here’s Banette back Alec. She was perfectly behaved the entire time– you’ve _got_ to show me how you trained her to be so good. Smeargle can be so difficult sometimes.”

“Banette’s a bit of a free spirit,” Alec forced through his clogged throat, pulling his hand away from Magnus’s and turning to look at Clary. “If she behaved for you, then she just likes you. There’s not really a trick to it.”

“Now, now,” Isabelle clapped her hands, smiling. “Let’s not forget, there was a bet! And, Alec won, so…” She trailed off, letting the others fill in the space for her.

“Right,” Magnus delved into one of the many pockets of his outfit, and pulled out a small badge, handing it to Alec. “One Psychic Badge, for the lovely Alec Lightwood.”

The design on the badge was sparkles, a pink-purple in color, connected by the edges.

“And…?” Jace added, leaning an arm on Alec’s shoulder.

“And,” Magnus sighed theatrically, “I apologize for my behavior to you earlier. It was wrong and very rude of me, and I hope you can find it in you to forgive me.” Alec nodded, and when it became apparent nothing else was going to be said, Magnus turned.

“All right then,” He turned, waving his hand, his Espeon following suit. “You guys can show yourselves out.” As Magnus was walking away, Alec was hit with the need to say something.

“Magnus!” He called out, not moving from his spot, though his companions had already started to leave. Magnus, having heard Alec’s shout, paused, half-turning to face the other trainer. “Thank you. For, you know, saving my life before. Thank you.”

Magnus gave Alec a smile, a glimmer of something twinkling in his eyes.

“Any time darling,” Magnus answered easily, turning away once more, leaving. He held his hand up in a motionless wave goodbye. “Any time.”

And that, was the last time Alec thought he would see Magnus Bane of Celestic City.

* * *

 


End file.
